1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to heating systems, and more particularly to a heated air distribution system for distributing higher heated air from one area to a lower heated area.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the prior art of which U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,156 is exemplary to disclose a heating system in which a primary source of air in one room is utilized to service the one room as well as an adjacent room. This is achieved by providing a pair of fans in the partition between the rooms designed to substantially simultaneously draw the higher heated air near the ceiling of the one room into the adjacent room, and the lower heated air near the floor of the adjacent room into the one room. This heating system does not utilize a common air return duct and hence is only usable for a pair of adjacent rooms. Accordingly, one disadvantage of this heating system is that a pair of fans located in "through-the-wall" openings is needed for each pair of rooms. This is costly and decreases the wall space available for other purposes. Another disadvantage of this heating system is that it does not utilize any pre-existing portions of normal forced air heating systems in the building such as air return ducts, grilles, registers, or the like. Consequently, a greater number of parts are needed in this system making it more costly to manufacture and install.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,347,025, 3,827,342 and 3,973,479 disclose air circulating systems for reducing stratification of air by preventing overheating near the ceiling and underheating near the floor. The air circulating systems achieve this by drawing warmer air adjacent the ceiling and discharging it near the floor, or reversely drawing cooler air adjacent the floor and discharging it near the ceiling. The primary disadvantage of these systems is that one system is needed for each room. In addition, such systems cannot solve the problem of distributing heat from a higher heated area in one room to a lower heated area in a room removed therefrom.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,817,159 and 3,884,133 disclose heating or air conditioning systems in which combined supply/return air ducts are used. The system of U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,133 suffers from the disadvantage of being complex and elaborate, comprising a series of dampers and automatic means for controlling the dampers to direct the return air flow as desired to different discharge points. This system is particularly adapted for handling fires in multi-story buildings so that the smoke from the fire area can be exhausted directly without being recirculated through the building.